Semester 2008A Call For Proposals

Semester 2008A Call For Proposals

Gemini Observatory invites its community to propose scientific investigations for the 2008A semester, 1 February 2008 - 31 July 2008.

The submission deadline is MONDAY OCTOBER 1ST 2007 for all partners.
Applications should be submitted via your national Gemini proposal process.
Submission times and other details vary by partner; please consult your National
Gemini Office pages
for more information. Joint proposals
must adhere to the deadline (and other requirements) applicable to the partner country of the institution to which the
Principal Investigator is affiliated.

The purpose of this page is to highlight the most relevant information
for the 2008A call. Significant additional information is
contained on supporting pages; users are encouraged to follow the
links for more detailed information. If hardcopy is preferred, the
primary pages are available in a single 14 page pdf document.

GEMINI IS PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE AN AMENDMENT TO OUR 2008A CALL FOR PROPOSALS.
Beginning in 2008A we can offer limited LGS observations of
Band 1 and 2 ToOs that are triggered less than a week before, or during,
an LGS run. The observations must be made during a planned LGS run at the telescope.
Also, only two such targets (for all programs) can be observed during
any typically week-long LGS run, and only one such target (for all
programs) can be observed on any given night. All effort will be made
to approve and observe a target within 24 hours, however this cannot be
guaranteed, and the observation may occur two or three nights after the
trigger is made.

Highlights for 2008A

General

Relevant milestones for 2008A can be found in the 2008A schedule.
Poor weather and
Director's Discretionary Time proposals are both accepted at any time via the Phase I Tool (this is new for poor weather proposals), otherwise
the deadline for Phase I submission is October 1st 2007, and for successful proposals
the Phase II submission deadline is 14 January 2008.

The Phase I Tool (PIT) is updated for 2008A; See PIT Help for downloads and important information. New features include improved handling of the "Band 3" tab in which the proposer must specify how the program can be optimized for execution in Band 3. Programs in Band 3 will
be set to use their specified Band 3 observing constraints and time request. See the
Band3 Considerations
page for ideas on Band 3 observing strategies and
completion rate statistics.

Proposals requesting classical observing time
must request integer nights, with a one night minimum. The proposals must specify
the observing conditions required to achieve the science goals of the program, and
alternative observations
utilizing poorer conditions may also be specified in an attachment. During a classical observing run, if
conditions are worse than those required by the main or alternate program, the time may be used
for queue observations. In this case, the classical time will not be re-scheduled.

We expect that, starting in 2008A, mask making from non-GMOS images for GMOS
multi-object spectroscopy (MOS) observations will be available.
Please check the
GMOS Status pages before submitting your proposal if you are interested
in this mode. Any unused pre-imaging time
will be returned to the program.

Both Rapid and Standard response Target of Opportunity (ToO)
programs must be identified as such in the PIT. GMOS MOS ToO programs are not accepted at this time.
Rapid response ToO programs (those requiring observations within 24 hours) are only allowed in Band 1 and cannot use the LGS system. Standard
response but time-critical ToOs cannot be in Band 3. Starting in 2007B, no ToO program will be granted
rollover status.

The Laser
Guide System (LGS) is fully commissioned for Altair observations with NIRI
and NIFS. LGS observations must request good conditions (Cloud Cover = 50%; Image Quality = 70%) and specify "Laser guide star" in the Adaptive Optics resources section in the PIT. Users should consult the LGS web pages for further information.
The LGS mode is expected to be available approximately 7-14 nights per month in queue mode only.
Because of the limited availability and the need for good weather, only LGS programs ranked in bands 1 and 2
will be recommended by the ITAC.

Phoenix
is offered in 2008A. Phoenix is an NOAO instrument that is on loan to Gemini; the loan
agreement is being finalized at the time of the call for proposals.
GNIRS is not available and has been shipped to Hawaii for re-commissioning on Gemini North in 2008. NICI
and Flamingos-2 are not being offered for community use at this
time.

Exchange

HIRES:
Up to 5 nights of classical time is available with the
HIRES optical
spectrograph on Keck. The requested nights must be within the
following windows: 24-29 March (up to 2 nights); 20-25 June (up to 2 nights) and 19-24 July (up to 1 night).
Requests must be full nights with a minimum of 1 night. Proposals should be submitted via the normal process. [more information]

Subaru: Up to 6 classical nights are available on Subaru for Suprime-Cam (wide field optical imaging) and MOIRCS (near-infrared imaging and multi-object spectroscopy).
The requested nights must be within the
following windows: 12-16 or 25-31 March (up to 2 nights); 1-8 April (up to 2 nights); 7-11 or 23-27 June (up to 2 nights).
Requests must be full nights with a minimum of 1 night. Proposals should be submitted via the normal process. [more information]

Additional Information

Details of the capabilities available at
each telescope are given below. Please see the page of supporting information for
additional general information.

Gemini North: Facilities

All instruments are offered in queue and classical mode, except for Laser Guide Star AO which is queue mode only.

GMOS
North - optical imager and
spectrograph: imaging and long-slit, multi-object and integral field spectroscopy

Michelle - mid-IR spectrograph and imager: imaging and R=100-3000 and echelle spectroscopy at 10 and 20um. Imaging polarimetry is also available.

See the target accessibility page for important information regarding instrument availability and a plot of accessible RAs and Declinations.
The elevation restriction for Laser Guide Star observations is no less than 40 degrees elevation.

Gemini South: Facilities

All instruments are offered in queue and classical mode.

Facility instruments:

GMOS
South - optical imager and spectrograph: imaging and long-slit, multi-object and integral field spectroscopy

See the target accessibility page for important information regarding instrument availability and a plot of accessible RAs and Declinations.

Questions and Answers

All questions concerning proposals, or any other subject, should be
made using the Gemini
HelpDesk. This web-based
system will send the request to your National Gemini Office staff in
the first instance
who will then escalate it to Gemini staff if necessary.

Comments and suggestions on the format
and content of this page and supporting pages are welcome, and should be sent
to Sandy Leggett.